04/13/2016

Ted Cruz for President Meetup groups are popping up all over San Diego County. I host one in Carlsbad and encourage people to come and visit their neighbors, to find Ted Cruz supporters. Here is what I discuss:

I run through the scenario that Donald Trump is unlikely to win the required 1237 delegates prior to the RNC convention Cleveland. What that means is that, for Trump to win the nomination before the convention, he will have to win 35 of the 53 CA congressional districts. We aim to stop him from doing that.

1- A candidate must earn a majority of the delegates (1237) to win the nomination.2- A candidate must have one 8 state nomination contests to be nominated.3- Only candidates, nominated for the opening ballot, can continue on to subsequent ballots.4- Any rules changes must be approved by a majority (1237) of the delegates.

Can the RNC Rules Committee 'change the rules"? Sure but look at #4; those changes must be approved by a majority of the delegates. With Trump and Cruz controlling 80% of the delegates, it is unfathomable to imagine why either campaign would want to change the existing rules--this thing it going to be a Cruz v. Trump convention...IF....

We win at least 25 Congressional Districts for Ted Cruz in California. Is that possible? Absolutely. Is that probably? You betcha but it's going to require a much better volunteer effort and that is why we are here--to win our neighborhoods for Ted Cruz.

How can each one of us win our neighborhood for Ted Cruz? That's simple--make sure the Cruz supporters actually make it to the polls on June 7th. We don't need to "sell" or "persuade" our Republican neighbors but rather identify who the Cruz supporters are in our neighborhood and get them to the polls. Here is how the San Diego County #CruzCrew is going to do that:

1- Claim and register your neighborhood at OneManCan.org The Cruz campaign will probably show up with data but, for now, we will use this free voter database. You may have to enter a credit card but the site founder assured me that San Diego County residents are free. Instruct volunteers to claim their neighborhood here.

2- Once the volunteer has secured his neighborhood, he/she should go to the "Intelligence" section, and choose "Precinct Voters" on the drop down menu.

3- Run a report with the filter for "Republican" voters and..VOILA! There are all of the registered Republicans in the volunteer's neighborhood.

4- The volunteer should personally introduce himself to each neighbor and stick to this script:

"Hi, my name is Brian and I am a local Republican volunteer. I wanted to say hello and see if you have any questions about the June primary. As I get information on the ballot initiatives coming up, I'll pass it along to you. Do you have any questions I can answer right now?"

This is a very non-confrontational approach. We identify ourselves as Republican because we are speaking with fellow Republicans. After we've had a generic conversation about the primary election, try to find out whom they support by asking,

"Oh, by the way, have you formed an opinion about any of the Presidential candidates?"

Then shut up and let your neighbor talk. If they are a strong Trump supporter, be polite and make note of it--you dont have to visit them later. If they are undecided or a Kasich supporter, make note of that. If they are a strong Cruz supporter, ask them if they wouldn't mind helping you by speaking only to the neighbors on their street. This could allow you to leverage your time and effort in your neighborhood.

More importantly, find out if they are a mail or poll voter. If they are a "mail voter", you should visit them on or around May 15th (the ballots go out on May 11. If they are a "poll voter ", you need to visit them Memorial Day weekend and make sure they get to the poll on June 7th to vote for Cruz.

If they say "I hate all the candidates", be polite, get out of there, and visit them as the election gets closer.

That's it. No selling or persuading. Just gathering intelligence on your neighborhood. If we know who Cruz voters are, and get them to the polls by election day, we win. Let me repeat that:

If we know who Cruz voters are, and get them to the polls by election day, we win.

It's that simple. That's what we talk about at the volunteer meetings.

03/24/2016

Here are my endorsements for the Republican Party of San Diego County Central Committee, for the June 2016 ballot. This is a four-year term and the members make up the governing body of the local party organization. My criteria for endorsement are pretty simple:

1- I eliminate anyone with a potential conflict of interest in the endorsements process.2- I favor incumbents who have a good voting record.3- I endorse a few "first timers" who are established GOP volunteers and use good judgement.

My first 'condition" has caused me to eliminate some really good people from the process, a few of which are close friends. It's not personal. I think those elected officials are already serving the Republican effort in San Diego well. I seek to expand the effort by bringing more volunteers into the governing process. Note that I did NOT file for election. I intend to remain active as a fundraiser for the local effort and don't want that bias on the Committee. In short, I am practicing what I preach. I'll have plenty of influence with the Committee but my vote would be biased.

71st Assembly District (East County):

Eric AndersenFrank HillikerJim Kelly

All three are incumbents, each a volunteer, and I don't know enough about the rest of the field to offer an endorsement.

Lee DeMeo is a movement conservative but he serves on two regional boards, one of which presents a conflict with the RPSDC meetings. Debbie Lenson is a new member to the Committee and is a hard working conservative. Regina Roberts is a dedicated activist for the Second Amendment and important leader in the Republican Party.

Krvaric is a superb chairman and, while he may not run for re-election for Chairman, he needs to be on the Committee. Foulkrod is the current Secretary and a long-time volunteer. Williams is one of the most dedicated volunteers we have. Schroeder and Rider are first-time candidates but were heavily involved in the Republican Liberty Caucus. Richard Rider is a warrior for Liberty. Carl DeMaio is a great choice. If he ever runs for office, he should resign his Central Committee position; I have no doubt that he would do that

78th Assembly District

Taylor Bloom Monica Fay Waskah Whelan Julio DeGuzman Dan Holstein

I served on and chaired this District for two years. Incumbents Fay, DeGuzman, and Holstein are independent thinkers with years of experience; they should be re-elected. Whelan was the County Chair of the Republican Women's Federated and Taylor Bloom is a rising and important voice in the County. Jean Roesch is a long time committee member but missed a lot of meetings; she would be a good sixth vote

79th Assembly District-- I can only endorse Martha Doiron; I don't know nor recommend the other candidates.

Prison Reform: California’s corrections budget is one of the largest ever at $10.1 billion. Despite the decline in prison numbers of the last several years, the state has budgeted the same amount for personnel as it did when the prison population has 30,000 more inmates than it does today. Furthermore, court ruling require medical benefits for prisoners that have only increased the amount of money spent on the states correctional budget. What prison reform efforts would you support? (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-prison-budget-insight-idUSKBN0UK0J520160106 January 6, 2016, Reuters)

1) There has been a lot of talk lately about "building a wall" to help with immigration efforts. But those of us in San Diego know very well that most of the traffic is being done underground. We have witnessed how sophisticated some of their tunnels are, even including lighting and air conditioner. If you are elected to represent the 52nd District and San Diego, how are you going to protect the border from all the underground trafficking that we have.

2) It is very easy people to point the fingers South when it comes to a discussion about illegal immigration. Yet we know there is a large amount of people that come in through the San Diego International airport legally and never go back home. What is your plan to deal with all those people that overstay their visas?

3) How do you feel about eVerify and if you support it, how would you make sure it is implemented in San Diego, which is considered a Sanctuary City?

4) We know that San Diego is one of the cities that host refugees from all over the world. How do you feel about that and how would you handle more request from the federal government to have more refugees living in San Diego County.

5) How do you feel about deporting parents that live in San Diego illegally but have children that are born here in the United States?

6) In a resent report from Fusion, we found that 80% of central american women, girls are raped crossing Into the United States and that many of them are kidnapped to be introduced into the sex slave trade. They are willing to take that risk in order to come here for a better life. What are your feelings about this issue and what kind of laws would you implement in order to prevent this from happening?

Second Amendment:

1) Statistics show that 9 out of 10 mass shootings over the last 60 years have occurred in "gun free zones". We protect money and valuables with armed security, what is your vision for providing our children in schools the same level of protection?

2) On both the state and federal level, Democrats have called for bans and severe limits on semi-automatic firearms, including the most commonly owned type of rifle, the AR15. What specific types of arms does the 2nd Amendment guarantee Americans can own and what limitations on that right do you support?

3) My passion for the 2nd Amendment comes from my belief that people should have the choice to defend themselves and the ones they love both inside and outside of the home. My question is what requirements do you feel people should meet in order to qualify for a concealed weapon permit and what will you do in office to ensure that people can exercise their right to bear arms across all 50 states?

Tax Reform/Fiscal Policy:

1-Do you favor the tax system that is in place currently, if ‘yes’ why, if ‘no’ what changes would you make?

2-With most tax revenues coming from the top 10% of earners in the US paid 68% of federal income tax even though they earned just 45% of all income (according to the Heritage Foundation) and the bottom 50% of earner paid 3% of the federal income tax after earning 12% of all income, what would you do to make it fair?

3- What is your opinion on the earned income tax credit?

4·Opinion on IRS?

5- What do you think of farm subsidies? Why?

6- Would you vote for a budget that causes a deficit? Follow up: How would you balance it?

7-- Many people believe government is very wasteful, what do you think? Follow up: What would you do about it?

8- The tea party movement believes that burdening our younger generations is unacceptable, how do you feel about it and what would you do to change it?

9- A few of the people running for President are proposing closing down some government agencies, do you agree? Which ones would close?

Foreign Policy

1-America has made a deal with Iran, a country that has threatened to wipe Israel from the map and has backed Shia militias that killed Americans in Iraq. Saudi Arabia has public executions, stones women, and promotes radical Islam abroad. 28 classified pages may show that the Saudi Royalty had a hand in funding 9-11. These two countries are now in a regional sectarian struggle against each other. Which side should the US support and why?

2-The F-35 Strike Fighter is the most expensive military weapons system in history. It is $163 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule. Proponents say it is needed to maintain American dominance of the air. Critics note that America hasn’t had a significant air war in decades and that states like Russia and China do not pose a threat to our air dominance and the future is with unmanned aircraft anyways. Do you support the F-35 program?

3-What was the Obama administration’s biggest foreign policy mistake?

4- Which is the bigger threat to the US – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea or ISIS?

5-With conventional threats on the wane and most hostilities in the Mideast, does the US still have a commitment to subsidize Europe, Korea, and Japan’s defense?

02/24/2016

The Del Mar Seacoast Republican Women Federated will be hosting a debate, between national defense consultant and Marine veteran Jacquie Atkinson and business owner and former Bush Administration official, Denise Gitsham–both ladies are Republican candidates for The US House of Representatives, representing the 52nd Congressional District. The seat is currently held by Democrat Scott Peters.

The debate will be held at the beautiful Del Mar Country Club. Attendees will enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres and a glass of wine with the $26.00 admission fee. Only 50 seats are available for this exclusive event and must be purchased in advance.

The debate will be held on St Patrick's Day, Thursday March 17, 2016. Networking will start at 6PM with the debate starting promptly at 6:30PM. The debate will have two 40-minute segments with a 10-minute intermission and should cover the following topics:

National SecurityCivil LibertiesTax and Regulatory ReformPreserving the Second AmendmentIllegal Immigration

Panelists are mostly residents of the 52nd Congressional District and involved with the Republican Party as Central Committee members and/or candidates for Central Committee. Panelists include Elliot Schroeder, Monica Fay, Taylor Bloom, Michael Schwartz, and Richard Bailey. Brian Brady will be moderating the debate

01/14/2015

The Republican Party of San Diego County (RPSDC) met on January 12, 2015 to elect new officers, for a two-year term, adopt bylaws, and consider a standing endorsement resolution.

We adopted a standing rule to recommend against any and all tax increase ballot propositions which require a 55% vote. The standing rule can be overturned, and RPSDC can recommend for a tax hike, under the following provisions:

1- ten of the sixty committee members must request the reversal, in writing, at least ten days before a monthly committee meeting, prior to the public tax-hike vote2- a reversal of the standing rule must receive at least 2/3 of the committee members' vote.

This is an important taxpayer protection because it sends a clear message that the Republican Party of San Diego County is, by default and design, against tax increases....NOT LIMITED TO BUT INCLUDING a taxpayer-funded stadium for the San Diego Chargers.

Stated differently, if the San Diego Chargers attempt to build a new stadium, with taxpayer dollars, and seek a public vote, the Republican Party of San Diego County is, by default and design, against that proposal unless 2/3 of the Committee approve a variance in oour endorsement.

I think that sends a powerful message to those who would seek to tax county residents for a private business concern. I LOVE the NFL but I dont think it's fair to tax my neighbors to support my weekend hobby in the fall. I've made my position quite clear on this issue and chose to record my name in favor of the motion and the subsequent vote.

A slate of candidates was presented to the full Committee and was approved unanimously by all members in attendance. I voted for every proposed officer for two reasons:

1- Chairman Tony Krvaric has experience, committment, and trust of the donors. He has served as Chairman since 2008, had good and bad election cycles, and is an integral part of the center-right coalition in San Diego County. He works hard and is a committeed volunteer. No other candidates were nominated and few on our Committee could measure up to Tony in this election cycle.

2- The rest of the officers were recommended by Chairman Krvaric. No other names were nominated for consideration and I saw no need to challenge the team Krvaric assembled. I've known each Officer for a number of years and want to give the Chairman the team he needs to be successful.

I resigned from the RPSDC Executive Committee last year. Dan Holstein will be replacing me as a regional chairman on the Executive Committee. I accepted Holstein's challenge to build out our volunteer precenict captain network for the communities og Solana Beach, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, La Jolla, University City, Pacific Beach, Mission beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Coronado, Imperial Beach, Downtown San Diego, Hillcrest, North Park, South Park, and Talmadge.

I think the number one challenge, facing RPSDC in the next election cycle, is to rebuild our volunteer network. We do very well on fundraising but our volunteer GOTV network has contracted in the past ten years. I chose to take on that action-oriented role rather than try to shape endorsements on the Executive Committee; I think it plays better to my strengths.

10/30/2014

Election Day is November 4, 2014 unless you are a died-in-the-wool, progressive Democrat. I'd encourage progressive Democrats to be certain that you show up to the polls early on November 5th.

All kidding aside, here are my recommendations for the upcoming elections I care about. The Republican Party of San Diego County (RPSDC) Voter Guide is here and my recommendations are mostly in line with RPSDC (with a few small exceptions). Allan Bartlett posted his voter guide here-he and I are almost always in agreement (he has great picks for Orange County)

Number of + signs shows my enthusiasm for the candidate (scale of 1-5)

1: NO-absolutely not2- YES- why not?45: NO-- why vest that much power in one person?46: YES--let market forces dictate how physicians practice medicine47: YES--the war on drugs is an abject failure48: YES--respect property rights and let the Indians develop property they own or buy

I omitted offices I have little or no interest in. I deliberately chose to not recommend candidates for Governor, Controller, Attorney General, and Escondido and Vista Mayors--read into that if you choose to.

I was surprised when I received my "sample" voter pamphlet...and found out many critical positions were to be voted on: Ca. Supreme Court and Ca. Appellate Courts.

I began my "research" on who was involved. The first thing I found out was Jerry Brown is one person away from reconstituting his "Rose Bird" court, that he created his first time as Gov. in the 70's.

The Supreme Court before the "Bird Court" stated in a published opinion..."it is not the job of this court to legislate from the bench". The "Rose Bird" court did just that...legislate from the bench.Overturning long standing legal doctrine, with outrageous decisions that undermine the functions of "lower courts". Anything to throw out a "death sentence"...including striking down "enhancements", that made the case a death penalty case. { Not only death penaly cases...but in rape cases as well }

"Transferred intent" was one of those "enhancements". EXAMPLE:

An off duty LA Sheriff's Deputy, walked into a bank robbery.Bad guys and Deputy exchange gunfire. Deputy's 3 year old daughter is killed...they shot at the Deputy, missed him, killing her.That's called "transferred intent"...they meant to kill the Deputy, but killed the daughter...murder in the firsts degree, during the commission of an armed robbery...death penalty is justified.The "Transferred intent rule" had been the law for about 120 years, when they threw it out, saying we now had to "prove" they meant to kill the 3 year old girl. That became the law for all such killings.

Brown left office, and " Duke" Deukmejain was elected Gov.

The "Bird Court" became so bad, that Judges began rebelling against the cases "Rosie and the Supremes" activist majority were reversing. One Judge, after "Rosie" and her cohorts appeared able to "read the minds" of the Police Officers involved in the case, wrote in his decision that he sent back to them, if "they could read the minds of the officers, and knew what they were thinking, so could he"...and he "read" their minds, justifying their actions, and sent the case back up to the Supreme Court, without changing his original finding.

But what he wrote at the end became the "Battle Cry" of other Judges, District Attorneys, Police Command Staff Officers, Attorneys in private practice, conservative groups and individuals, throughout the State. He wrote..." I refuse to go Lemming like, into the sea. I reserve my right to kick and scream, all the way down".

A translation..."We are mad as hell...and we aren't going to take it anymore".

It took two years of work by us, but Rose Bird, and 2 of her "activist court" cohorts, were voted out of office...the first Supreme Court Justices to be voted out of office, in our States history.

Deukmejain replaced them with experienced Justices, with practical and Constitutional law experience. Once in place...the "Deukmejain Court" began to "revisit" cases from the Rose Bird Court.

The very first case they "revisited" was the "transferred intent" case, and they "reversed" that court decision, and reinstated the death penalty against those robbers who had shot and killed the Deputy's 3 year old daughter. And that meant that anyone who shoots at someone, and misses, but kills an innocent bystander, was also once again tried under the "transferred intent" law.

Today...Brown is getting his "second bite at the apple"...his new "Rose Bird Court"...a court that will "legislate from the bench", which has already started, and without a doubt, a court that will "rubber stamp" laws passed by the democrats controlling Sacramento.

At the end of this year, a "conservative Justice" will retire--Brown nominated his replacement.The democrats "rubber stamped" the nomination.

Goodwin Liu.

Law Professor from Berkley.{ Need I say more?..."we will take the law and shove it down the courts throat, until it chokes"...the Radical Lawyers Guild, Berkley Chapter, 1960 }

Liu was given a position in the obama administration.obama's people nominated him for an appointment to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals...the most radical, and the most overturned court, in the history of our country's Federal Court system.The Republican's in the Senate said no...and threw down the gauntlet...and it turned into a bitter fight. Finally, Liu withdrew his name.

So now...Brown appoints him to our Supreme Court...and it's Rose Bird time all over again.

So...for what it's worth.

Supreme Court

Goodwin Liu...no.

Mariano Florintino Cuellar...no{Another Brown appointee }

Kathryn Mickle Werdegar...yes{ Pete Wilson }

For State Courts Of Appeals

Appeals Court Div 1Terry B. O'Rourke...yes{ "Duke" }

Appeals Court Div 1Gilbert Nares...yes{ "Duke" }

Appeals Court Div 1Alex C. McDonald...yes{ Pete Wilson }

Appeals Court Div. 1James A. McIntyre...yes{ Wilson }

Appeals Court Div. 2Thomas E. Hollenhorst...yes{ Duke }

Appeals Court Div. 3Kathleen E. O'Leary...yes{ Duke }San Diego and Imperial County are in this jurisdiction

Appeals Court Div. 3William F. Rylaarsdan...yes{ Duke }

William M. Aronson...no{ Appointed by Gray Davis...who I call "Jerry Brown Jr". }

04/21/2014

The Republican Party of San Diego County met in April, 2014 to deliberate and vote on a consent list for endorsement in the June, 2104 and November, 2014 election.

Our Executive Committee (of which I am a member) voted to forward Assemblyman Tim Donnelly's name for endorsement for Governor of California. A majority of the Executive Committee voted to endorse him a week prior and that consideration was the first item on the agenda. Chairman Krvaric, Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, and Vice-Chairman Nehring argued against endorsement. I, and Caucus Chair Eric Andersen argued for endorsing Donnelly. The full Committee rejected Donelly's endorsement motion with a majority vote.

A consent list was compiled which included incumbent Superior Court judges. Two judges were removed from the consent list and considered seperately. Those two incumbent judges were endorsed by the Committee with a majority vote. I voted against the endorsement .

The Committee voted unanimously to endorse Barbara Decker for the 78th Assembly District.

Retired Navy SEAL Larry Wilske and school teacher Joel Marchese were considered for endorsement in the 53rd Congressional District. I spoke on behalf of Larry Wilske and voted to endorse him. Wilske was endorsed with a 2/3 supermajority vote.

Incumbent Poway Mayor Don Higginson and Poway City Councilman Steve Vaus were considered for endorsment. I voted to endorse Vaus. Vaus was endorsed with a 2/3 supermajority vote.

School Board Member John McCann and real estate broker Scott Vinson were considered for endorsement for the Chula Vista City Council. I spoke on behalf of Vinson and voted to endorse him. McCann was endorsed with a 2/3 supermajority vote.

Real estate broker Hector Gastelum and attorney Dan Smith were considered for endorsement for the Chula Vista City Council. I voted to endorse Gastelum. Gastelum was endorsed with a 2/3 supermajority vote.

Judge Pro-Tem Ken Gosselin and attorney Brad Weinreb were considered for endorsementfor Superior Court Judge. I spoke on behalf of Gossenli and voted to endorse him. Gosselin was endorsed with a 2/3 supermajority vote.

01/16/2014

The Republican Party of San Diego County met in January to deliberate and vote on a consent list for endorsement in the November, 2014 election. The candidates offered were originally considered in the December, 2013 meeting but were voted down at that time.

Even though this endorsement consideration is six months premature, I was prepared to vote for the consent list because, after performing my due diligence, I felt comfortable with the December consent list. The Committtee pulled three names from that list, for consideration in March, and that satisfied my desire to ask those candidates follow-up questions.

A week prior to the meeting, approximately 15 names were added to the consent list. Many of the candidates and offices were unknown to me and were mostly school board candidates. In the short period of time offered for due diligence, I discovered that 11 of the 12 candidates on the list voted for federal intervention into the local school curricula (Common Core Standards Initiative), a direct refutation of the Republican National Committee platform.

I voted against the entire consent list because it was procedurally impossible to remove those 11 candidates at the meeting. The endorsement list was accepted by the Committee and all of the candidates were endorsed in a majority vote.

A motion to endorse the three candidates, originally pulled from the consent list and scheduled for a March, 2014 endorsement vote, was made and seconded. An objection to the motion arose, during the discussion period, and the Chairman ruled that the motion to endorse was vaild. I voted against all three candidates. The Committee voted to endorse the three candidates in a majority vote.

12/10/2013

The Republican Party of San Diego County met last night to celebrate the holidays and consider the endorsement for incumbent City Council candidates, from various cities, for the November 2014 election. The Executive Committee met last week (I was absent) and recommended that the compiled list of candidates be endorsed.

I voted against the motion to endorse the compiled list of candidates. I primarily opposed the endorsement because prior notificaton of the compiled list hadn't been distributed to the full committee for consideration. As such, I felt that a potential conflict with the endorsement rules existed. I secondarily felt that the election was too far away (11 months) to endorse. The motion was defeated and the list of endorsed candidates will be considered at a future date.